Floral French

When nail artist Julie Parker was asked to do her sister’s wedding nails, she knew she wanted to create something above and beyond your basic French. Inspired by both the destination wedding’s location (Hawaii) and her home country (Japan), Julie sculpted 3-D white hibiscus flowers embellished with silver beads to trace the clear tip’s free edge. This created a loose smile line and the manicure was later dubbed the Floral French. Its subtle artistry is perfect for bridal clients, but the flowers’ color can also be altered for any occasion. 

Parker is an educator with INM and the owner of Julie Parker Nail Salon in San Diego, Calif. To see more of her original nail art, follow her on Instagram: nailsbyjulie26.

1. Sculpt a clear acrylic nail and file it into the shape your client desires. Parker chose almond.

2. Using a small nail art brush with a good point (Parker used INM’s Elite Pro Designer brush), gather a small bead of white powder. Don’t use too much liquid — the acrylic bead should have a drier consistency.

3. Place the bead toward the free edge of the nail and pull it toward the center to create a teardrop shape, forming a 3-D petal. Repeat this until your flower has five petals.

4. Create side flowers with three petals each to line the curved sides of the nail. Don’t go all the way down to the cuticle; flowers should form an imperfect smile line.

5. Place a small dab of glue in the center of each flower. Using petite tweezers, place a mini silver bead on each dab of glue. Place a few more mini silver beads onto the clear portion of the nail to line the design. Cover the whole nail with either clear gel or gel-polish top coat and cure for 30 seconds with an LED light or two minutes with a UV light. Parker used gel-polish top coat.